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The Left are no experts, anyone who believes that "racism is too apparent and too problematic in our society" is conflating it beyond all proportions and has bought the hype (again). The media has quite the dog in this fight too, driving traffic to their sites and feeding off the mayhem generated. IOW, like the "Red Scare" decades ago, there's much more hysteria built up around racism than there is actual racism, and what racism does exist is equally spread across all races.

A little test we ran to check for bias on Twitter:

The outcome was eye-opening. Of course, different mods will handle things in different ways and it may have been a situation of getting one who is a hardass and another that's more lax, but at the very least it shows that they can be quite inconsistent in their judgements.

"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr

"Yeahhhhhhh, I'm just going to have to go ahead and call BS on this wildly convenient anecdote"

Aawwww. I really *care. It's not "convenient" at all, when talking politics on Twitter it's common. Why? Because that platform attracts the most outspoken people, for good or ill, and their emotions are pegged right now. I did notice that the guy's profile is gone now, so I guess they banned them (probably for the weaksauce death threat). So that's a plus.

(*No, not really.)

"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr

Racism is perhaps an even more complicated affair. What have you learned trying to get inside heads?

I can explain it best with a trip through my head. Mind the sticky spot.

I, like most, don't think I'm a racist.

I very rarely see racism occurring in my daily life.

I, as a human, have been evolved to be racist as a survival mechanism, so even if racism is occurring in my daily life, I'm not necessarily going notice it.

Of course, I'm surrounded by examples of normalized racism, but those aren't noticed by definition.

The deck is completely stacked against me thinking racism is some overwhelming problem. The threat is literally invisible.

AFAICT, the proposed method to help me over this hurdle is demand I substitute my observations with whatever the MSM decides to say. I pretty much agree with you guys, and the idea makes me wanna hurl.

His official statement was "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color".

That sounds like indicting the country.

I'll have to concede that.

I would like to point out though, that he cared enough about the opinion of the military that he consulted a green beret and modified his protest to the knee from just sitting. He obviously cares about how he sends that message.

Originally Posted by subego

It took me a bit to figure out why I'm both seeing the points here, and getting a totally different read at the same time.

The following is exaggerated for clarity.

Trump thinks racism doesn't exist.

What happens when you come to that conclusion through racist thinking?

Originally Posted by subego

Trump thinks cops get an entirely undeserved bad rap.

Or he thinks all those black dudes they kill are bad hombres, so they're justified.

Trump thinks he can't oppress Kaepernick because Kaepernick and him are on a level playing field.[/quote]No way, even if I thought he considered such a thing, punch has no problem punching down.

I'm losing the thread of why Kaepernick needs to be defended. I haven't criticized him.

What does "coming to that conclusion through racist thinking" mean?

Though I don't think it was intentional, "Punch" is a great ****in nickname for him. As far as Punch punching down goes, if it isn't obvious Punch's whole schtick is overcompensation for crippling self-hatred, I... don't know what to tell you.

Can I request the economic anxiety point be rephrased? I don't really get it.

That's not true (not that you care), I've had several racial slurs leveled at me today, along with a death threat (which I turned over to Twitter to deal with), but that's par for your assumptions, isn't it?

Hey CTP, get off that garbage factory known as Twitter, it’s poisoning your perception of large swaths of people because the ones that take to Twitter to rant are awful reactionary idiots.

Maybe you missed this?

Why? Because that platform attracts the most outspoken people, for good or ill, and their emotions are pegged right now.

"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr

Earlier in this controversy while watching a Green Bay game I noticed a fan wiping rain from his face with a flag as well. These idiots fellate the national anthem yet treat the flag like a towel and or blanket.

It’s patriotic to wear the flag as a codpeice and get Budweiser-Bukkake.

“And I have to tell you, folks, I don't really believe very much in my country either. I don't get all choked up about yellow ribbons and American flags. I see them as symbols, and I leave them to the symbol-minded.” - George Carlin

All of a sudden we could have a week featuring all of these QBs as starters: Nathan Peterman, Blaine Gabbert, Kellen Clemens, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tom Savage.

But yeah, the decision not to pick up Kaep is totally based on analytics and not at all because of him kneeling. The guy was a couple plays away from being a Super Bowl champion but let’s start Tom f**king Savage instead to playcate our dumbass vocal minority fanbase.

To be honest, Kaep would probably suck as much as the next random backup since he’s been out of the league so long. The fact no one picked him up before or early in to this season is 100% blackballing.

His stock dropped after the 49ers axed Jim Harbaugh and he suffered under two abysmal coaches. By the time he started kneeling most already considered him washed up but I see it as the fault of circumstance.

If I was a GM of about a dozen franchises I would take Kaep as a backup with no hesitation. Right now he’d be a starter on at least 6 teams due to injuries. With a proper coach and offensive coordinator he could be just as explosive as when he was under Harbaugh.

Any chud yelling at media pundits to stick to sports is directing their ire at the wrong target. The NFL created this distraction economy, and they have made no real effort to undo it. It’s the NFL’s fault that Colin Kaepernick remains a visible pariah, because teams were too chickenshit to sign him. It’s the NFL’s fault that Roger Goodell sincerely proclaimed that they would be a leader in the “domestic violence space,” a task that’s difficult enough for actual experts in that field and nay impossible for some lunkheaded sports goon. It’s the NFL’s fault that they let Jerry Jones seize control of nearly all of the league’s background commerce, to the point where Jerry doesn’t give a thin shit if he leaves behind an enormous mess as he grabs for even more power and money. It’s the NFL’s fault that they have a PUTRID relationship with their own players, which is one of the reasons they can’t compel them all to stand for the anthem and soothe fan and sponsor discontent.

[pauses for breath]

It’s the NFL’s fault that they demanded Roger have supreme punishing power, which means they tussle with the players in court every time a high profile player gets in deep shit. It’s the NFL’s fault that they suppressed brain injuries for so long that they get blindsided every so often with a CAT scan of a former player that looks like a map of flooded river delta. It’s the NFL’s fault that they overextended the Thursday night football schedule to the point where player complaints about fatigue and injury override the games, even when they’re competitive. It’s the NFL’s fault that they cannot stop tinkering with the rulebook, to the point that the postmortem for many games center on how visibly awful the officiating is. It’s the NFL’s fault they injected themselves into local politics to wrangle one-sided stadium deals. It’s the NFL’s fault that they used their massive ratings as a cudgel and now have to deal with public speculation as to what will happen now that those ratings are falling. It’s the NFL’s fault they brought players out to the field for the anthem and stretched out ****ing field-size flags at a time when America’s standing both in the world and in the history of mankind are undergoing a thoroughly deserved reevaluation.

And it is TOTALLY the NFL’s fault that they took it upon themselves to be the vanguard of American values. The NFL wanted to be about more than football, and now they act surprised when extracurricular issues pervade the sport. Look at right now. We’re still in the middle of “Salute to Service month,” which has long been a poorly veiled mix of commerce and nationalism. This comes on the heels of cancer month, which is a wonderful cause but again represents the NFL making a dramatic overreach beyond its skill set. The NFL is actively bad at solving non-football problems, but no one asked them to try. And now they’ve gotten so caught up in all that shit that they now suck at the football part, which is all they should have focused on to begin with.

I don't understand why NFL owners seem determined to retain Goodell as commissioner when the majority seem unsatisfied or unhappy with his performance. They have nothing to lose by going in a new direction, do they?

I don't understand why NFL owners seem determined to retain Goodell as commissioner when the majority seem unsatisfied or unhappy with his performance. They have nothing to lose by going in a new direction, do they?

What is more amazing is there is talk of pulling a “Marge Schott” on Jerry Jones in order to keep Goodell.

Wild Card weekend came and went, or as Patriots fans know it "the bye week of the playoffs", and we've got the final 8 teams of the 2017 season ready to make a bid to play in Minnesota's shiny new stadium.

The NFC is bringing all the heat this year, from the NFC South fielding 3 (now 2) teams into the postseason, to the unexpected success of the LA Rams, the dominance of the Eagles* and Vikings...etc... The NFC championship is shaping up to be a mini-superbowl for yet another year. *(Carson Wentz going down was the most significant loss for any of the playoff teams)

The AFC is the same faces (Pats Steelers) and apparently the best two other teams in the conference (Jaguars Titans). The Bills even snuck in for goddsakes, but got pantsed last weekend. Blake Bortles ran for more yards than he threw for and the Jags won the game! Matt Stafford threw for like a billion yards and 3 TDs and lost a playoff game years ago, you can't make this stuff up.

Now for the Fatty Predictions™ . which are usually wrong except....

Prediction that will almost certainly be wrong about SB51: Falcons 27 - Patriots 31

Damn, I was close!

Div Round:

NFC
Falcons vs Eagles - This is the hardest matchup to try and predict IMO. Eagles lost Wentz and have a great defense, Falcons are incredibly explosive on both sides of the ball. Ultimately I think the Falcons advance.

Saints vs Vikings - The Saints are on f**king fire this year, great run game , Brees is playing extremely well and the young defense has turned everything around for NO. That said, the Vikings defense suffocates Brees and his RBs and the young Saints defense gets worn down, I'm giving it to the Vikings

AFC
Patriots vs Titans - Everyone has a chance to beat the Patriots this year, the defense is not good, Brady is getting too much pressure consistently but I can't see Bill losing to Mariota in Foxboro. It'll take a 2 INT day from Tom and throw in some ST brainfarts too. If the offense starts fast, thanks to Gronk being pretty much 100%, it'll be a bloodbath.

Jaguars vs Steelers - Blake Bortles is not a good QB, the Jaguars defense is the best in the league. Steelers defense is okay, offense has some of the best playmakers in the game. Classic stalemate game with Bortles throwing a pick 6 in the 4th quarter to break Jacksonville's heart, you can count on it.

Conference Championships:

Steelers @ Patriots - Can Pittsburgh finally get the Pats monkey off their back, at Gillette? Having already played during the season I'm worried about this matchup, Pats D will give up huge plays to Pit. Of course, as a good homer, Brady and Gronk carve up the Steelers D again and Tomlin does something stupid because Bill uses his sith powers on him.

Falcons @ Vikings - Vikings to the superbowl in their own stadium! Lutefisk for everyone!

SuperBowl 52

Patriots vs Vikings - Vikings cruise along all game until a series of bizarre calamities allow the Patriots to score 27 unanswered points. Thus adding another franchise to the heap of teams that have shat all over themselves against the Pats in the superbowl.

Bill and Tom will be going to their 8th (!!!) Super Bowl together. Just a staggering amount of success between the two of those guys.

The underdog Eagles absolutely trounced the Vikings on Sunday, just a complete ass kicking by the defense and Nick Foles slinging the ball all over the place.

Win or lose Philly is going to burn to the ground after the game.

Now on to prognostication...

Nick Foles seems to have reverted back to 2013 Nick Foles, which spells trouble for the Pats. With dual RBs in Blount and Ajay and physical tall WRs the Pats D is going to have its hands full all game. At this point if Brady has anything less than 14 points to score in the 4th the game is over. It’s just phenomenal how many times he marches down the field when the clock is expiring. Eagles are going to need to be aggressive when they have the ball, any possession wasted on conservative “protect the lead” play-calls will be very ill-advised. In the end this game will come down to the final seconds (like every Pats SB).